Month: August 2019

Citation: Can Athletic Uniform Color Determine Winners and Losers? (2008, February 25) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2008-02-athletic-uniform-winners-losers.html It’s not uncommon for some athletes to have good luck charms, including the superstition that wearing certain colors may give them an edge on the competition. While some studies have found that, indeed, certain colors may increase the likelihood of winning in combat sports, a recent study shows that researchers must take into account potentially confounding factors when associating color with winning probability. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. However, the potential psychological effect of color in sport doesn’t end there. Numerous other studies have shown that other colors – notably red and orange – can signal aggression and dominance in a wide variety of organisms. Some research points out that, in fair-skinned humans, anger can cause the face to redden. Psychological research has also shown that color can impact an individual’s mood, behavior, brain activity, and even body posture. Perhaps due to these reasons, one study found that athletes in red have a winning bias over athletes in blue in a variety of sports, including men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling, boxing, and tae kwon do. Another study found that football and hockey teams with black uniforms receive more penalties than other teams. Some of these associations between color and performance may still very likely be true. Dijkstra and Preenan just advise that researchers be careful to account for all contributing factors when investigating color-associated winning biases in sports.“We do believe in the effect of red,” said Dijkstra. “Red is associated with anger, fear and failure in human societies; in many animals red increases the likelihood of winning. Yet, the findings of Hill and Barton (in 2005) that athletes in red win more often in four combat sports requires a re-evaluation, because their analysis may also be confounded by similar factors as described in our study for judo. Ultimately, experimental work is needed (also for the presumed lack of an effect of blue-white) to determine whether color biases winning in human sport.”More information: Dijkstra, Peter D. and Preenen, Paul T. Y. “No effect of blue on winning contests in judo.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1700. Copyright 2008 PhysOrg.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of PhysOrg.com. Opponents compete in a judo match. Image credit: US Marine Corps. Dutch researchers Peter Dijkstra of the University of Glasgow and Paul Preenen of the University of Amsterdam have investigated the claim of a previous study that judo athletes wearing blue uniforms were more likely to win compared with those in white uniforms during the 2004 Olympics. Supposedly, blue could have an intimidating effect on opponents, since it is brighter than white. Further, white uniforms might be easier to see than blue uniforms, giving the athlete in blue the advantage of anticipating the movements of an opponent in white.However, Dijkstra and Preenen point out several confounding factors that the previous study did not account for. Taking these factors into consideration, the researchers found that athletes in blue and white uniforms had equal chances of winning a contest.The researchers determined three confounding factors in the previous study. First, the top 11 percent of judo athletes in the 2004 Olympics were seeded, and all were given blue uniforms. Although the previous study tried to correct for the seeding by excluding first-round matches, Dijkstra and Preenen show that the seeding bias persists up through the third round of matches.Second, the researchers explained that athletes competing in the “loser’s pool” also had a uniform color bias, since athletes in blue were more likely to have won their previous match. Further, in the loser’s pool, athletes in blue were also more likely to have competed in one fewer match than athletes in white. And third, athletes in blue had slightly longer periods of time between matches, giving them more time to rest than athletes in white.When correcting for these three factors, the researchers found that pitting blue uniforms against white uniforms was actually a very fair match-up. They confirmed this result by analyzing 71 other major judo tournaments since 1996. Overall, they recommend that blue-white uniform pairings are an ideal match for ensuring equal play. “Our paper emphasizes the need to carefully consider potential confounding factors,” Dijkstra told PhysOrg.com. “This holds, of course, for every single research project, no matter what it’s about. Surely, our findings are important for sport policy makers; blue-white most likely ensures an equal level of play, in contrast to blue-red.” Explore further How Japan’s renewables-powered Olympics could kick off a global race for clean energyread more

by NPR News Avie Schneider 8.23.19 1:28pm Updated at 11:35 a.m. ETSignaling the possibility of more interest-rate cuts, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will “act as appropriate” to sustain the economic expansion as the trade war with China takes a toll on global growth and the U.S. economy. In prepared remarks Friday to a Kansas City Fed gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Powell said the economy faces “significant risks” and cited several developments that have roiled financial markets in recent weeks. Those developments include new U.S. tariffs on imports from China; signs of a global slowdown, namely in the economic powerhouses Germany and China; and the growing possibility that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union without a deal.”Trade policy uncertainty seems to be playing a role in the global slowdown and in weak manufacturing and capital spending in the United States,” Powell said. He said the U.S. economy has continued to perform well, driven by consumer spending, but job creation has slowed. “Based on our assessment of the implications of these developments, we will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” Powell said.Last month, the Fed cut interest rates for the first time in over a decade, lowering the cost of borrowing for credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. President Trump has repeatedly pressured the Fed to lower interest rates further to boost the economy, and this week, he called for a dramatic one-percentage-point cut. On Friday, Trump again tweeted his criticism of the central bank. “We have a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed. … My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?” Trump’s tweets came shortly after China announced retaliatory tariffs against $75 billion in U.S. goods.In his remarks, Powell said that “while monetary policy is a powerful tool that works to support consumer spending, business investment, and public confidence, it cannot provide a settled rulebook for international trade.”He also addressed another issue on the mind of market watchers: whether the long U.S. expansion is leading banks and other financial firms to take more risks. “We have not seen unsustainable borrowing, financial booms, or other excesses of the sort that occurred at times [before the Great Recession], and I continue to judge overall financial stability risks to be moderate,” he said. “But we remain vigilant.”Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit NPR. More Rate Cuts? Powell Says Fed Is Ready To Help Economy… Manuel Balce Cenetaread more

Jeff Roberson Federal Judge Blocks Parts Of Missouri Law That Bans… by NPR News Bobby Allyn 8.27.19 4:47pm Updated at 4:46 p.m. ETPortions of a Missouri law banning abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy were blocked by a federal judge just a day before the legislation was to go into effect.U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs issued the order halting the law, whose provisions also call for physicians who perform an abortion after eight weeks to face possible prison time and have their license suspended or revoked. “While federal courts should generally be very cautious before delaying the effect of state laws, the sense of caution may be mitigated when the legislation seems designed, as here, as a protest against Supreme Court decisions,” Sachs wrote in his opinion.Sachs denied a full preliminary injunction on technical grounds, but his ruling achieved what he called the “desired result” sought by Planned Parenthood for now. He left in place — at least for now — prohibitions on abortion for reasons of race, sex or a suspected diagnosis of Down syndrome in the fetus.The legislation that Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed in May has an exception for medical emergencies, but not for victims of rape or incest. Planned Parenthood filed suit to halt the law last month, and its lawyers told the court that the legislation would mean “patients will be subject to significant and irreparable constitutional, medical, emotional, and other harms for which no adequate remedy at law exists.” In a statement, Kristan Hawkins of the anti-abortion rights group Students for Life called Tuesday’s ruling “a travesty of justice and an insult to the democratic process.”Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, welcomed the decision blocking a law that she called “harmful.” “What little abortion access in Missouri is left, will stay in place for the time being. In the meantime, we cannot ignore the part of this law that remains in place, which allows politicians to interfere with the patient-provider relationship,” she said. But Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, criticized the judge’s decision. “Missouri is a strongly pro-life state and lawmakers acted on their constituents’ will when they passed landmark protections for unborn children and their mothers,” Dannenfelser said. “We are extremely disappointed in today’s ruling which blocks limits on abortion, even late-term abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy when the child can feel excruciating pain.”Sachs’ ruling follows several other federal court decisions that have barred restrictive abortion laws from being implemented in states such as Ohio and Mississippi. Many of those laws criminalize the procedure as soon as heartbeat activity can be detected — as early as six weeks, which is before many women even know they’re pregnant.Anti-abortion-rights activists are hoping that legal challenges to one of the state laws will reach the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion established by the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade.In its July lawsuit, the clinic, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said the Missouri law would “directly violate long-standing Supreme Court precedent,” calling it “Missouri’s unrelenting campaign to deny patients the health care they seek and to which they are entitled.”The state’s law was written with an eye toward banning the procedure as early as the courts will allow it. If an eight-week ban is thrown out, the law includes a cascading series of 14-, 18- and 20-week abortion bans that could take effect instead.”The hostility to, and refusal to comply with, the Supreme Court’s abortion jurisprudence is most obviously demonstrated in the attempt to push ‘viability’ protection downward in various weekly stages to 8 weeks,” the judge wrote, referring to the way the state crafted the law. In a separate process, the fate of the last remaining clinic that provides abortions in Missouri remains uncertain. Parson’s administration says the clinic is not meeting state health regulations. Planned Parenthood officials say they have done all they can to comply but that the rules are being arbitrarily enforced for political reasons. A hearing in that matter is planned for October.Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.read more

Are you one of those who frequent the bylanes of Jama Masjid and Nizamuddin to gorge on Delhi’s signature cuisine? Snack on chaats at every possible opportunity? Pounce on the kulfis whenever you get the chance? Well, take heart. Now you don’t have to explore and go all over the town in search of your favourite Delhi cuisine. Get ready for the second edition of Delhi Ke Pakwan Festival which starts next month. Organised by Delhi Tourism, the festival will bring together the culinary delights of the age-old shops of Purani Dilli. Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’The week-long festival is all about celebrating Delhi and its cuisine and will bring together various food items. The entire venue will be redefined with the Old Delhicharm as celebrations in Purani Dilli with features such as a wishing tree, auto and cycle rickshaw, potter etc. dig into the famous chaat, kulfi, biryani and kebabs from the labyrinths of old Delhi under one roof. Apart from food items, there will also be various cultural activities, handicrafts, puppet show, talk show and much more. Also, there will be free candies for kids.DETAILAt: Baba Kharak Singh Marg When: 8-14 Februaryread more